Overhead track assembly

ABSTRACT

An overhead track assembly forming an aerial runway for transporting goods, such as meat, has a pair of downwardly open channels constitute support rails which are hung on yokelike hanger brackets from an overhead support. One leg of each rail is received in a groove in each bracket and a setscrew is tightened in the bracket to clamp this leg in place. The other leg of each rails define with the facing rail a gap down through which extends the hanger arm of a trolley whose rollers each ride on one of the rails. These other legs may be chamfered so as to permit lateral displacement of the hanger arm and this hanger arm has at least one roller engageable with the other legs to insure ease of riding. The rails are formed of a plurality of in-line rail sections whose ends are secured together by connecting pieces between the legs. One of the legs is formed with an inwardly directed ridge and the connecting piece is formed to snugly engage in the space between the two legs of the rail and be clamped in place with a setscrew.

[45] Apr. 8, 1975 l l OVERHEAD TRACK ASSEMBLY [76] lnventor:

Prinmry limminw-M. Henson Wood Jr. Aszw'smnl Eruminw-Rohert Saifer JeanEnnemond Mazuyer, Belmont tlAzerques par Lozanne Rhone.

Auorneu Agent, or FirmKarl F. Ross; Herbert Dubno France Jan. 2, I974Appl. No.: 429,753

[57] ABSTRACT An overhead track assembly forming an aerial runway (22]Filed:

for transporting goods. such as meat. has a pair of [30] ForeignApplication Priority Data Jan. 3. I973 downwardly open channelsconstitute support rails F n 7100 54 which are hung on yokelike hangerbrackets from an 2 I973 Fmne 7103315 overhead support. One leg of eachrail is received in a groove in each bracket and a setscrew is tightenedin Mar.

the bracket to clamp this leg in place. The other leg of each railsdefine with the facing rail a gap down through which extends the hangerarm of a trolley whose rollers each ride on one of the rails. Theseother legs may be ehamfered so as to permit lateral displacement of thehanger arm and this hanger arm has at least one roller engageahlc withthe other legs to insure ease of riding. The rails are formed of aplurality of in-line rail sections whose ends are secured together byconnecting pieces between the legs. One

|5ti| References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS of the legs is formed withan inwardly directed ridge and the connecting piece is formed to snuglyengage in the space between the two legs of the rail and he clamped inplace with a setscrewl l ////i/l PATENTEDAPR 81975 SHZET 1 BF 2PATENTEDAPR ems susnap z FiG.3

OVERHEAD TRACK ASSEMBLY FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present inventionrelates to an overhead track system. More particularly this inventionconcerns an overhead track and trolley suitable for the transport ofgoods. such as meat in packing houses.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The standard overhead track systems of thebar, Coburn. or double I-beam types have a generally horizontal trackformed of a plurality of longitudinally joined rails which are supportedat regular intervals with hangers secured overhead. Trolleys havingwheels or rollers riding on support surfaces of the track serve tosuspend loads which then can be pushed along the track. Such a system ispractical in that it allows the transport of heavy and otherwiseunwieldy objects readily, yet takes up no floor space.

In the bar type the rail is bolted to hangers which lie along one sideof the bar, permitting the trolley to pass along the other side. TheCoburn system has rolledsteel track forming a passage opening through acentral slit in its bottom wall so that the rollers roll inside the railwhile the load is carried on an arm projecting through the slit. Thedouble Lbeam system uses two I- beams to form the track. with thetrolley riding between them.

A principal disadvantage of these systems is that the hanger bracketsmust be affixed at predetermined intervals from each other where therails are drilled to receive connecting bolts. or the rails must beredrilled to change the spacing. in practice it may be necessary tospace the brackets apart by a distance smaller than the desired spacingor to position the brackets at unsuitable locations. This does notpermit optimum spacing and positioning of the brackets.

In addition such systems are frequently complicated and expensive.Should one rail section become damaged, it is often a very arduous taskto replace it alone, and joining these rails together is frequentlycomplicated. especially since the sections are usually predrilled attheir ends so that when a section is cut shorter it must be redrilled tojoin its cut end to another section.

OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention toprovide an improved overhead track system.

Another object is the provision of such a system, especially suitablefor the transport of foods, which is simple in design and easy toassemble.

A further object is to provide a system wherein the rail is protectedagainst lateral deflection of the trolley.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION These objects are attained according to thepresent invention in an arrangement wherein the rail has an upperhorizontal support surface for the trolley and is formed with aprojecting flange which extends the full length of the rail. Thebrackets are formed with recesses which receive the flange, and means isprovided at each bracket to clamp the flange in the respective recess.Thus the rail is simply gripped by the brackets which therefore can beplaced anywhere along its length.

In accordance with a further feature of this invention the track isformed of parallel spaced rails or channels each formed as an inverted Uwith one leg constituting the clamping flange and another leg turnedtoward the other leg ofthe other rail. The clamping means is a simplescrew threaded in the bracket in a hole opening into a slot whichconstitutes the recess receiving the holding flange.

According to yet another feature ofthis invention the other leg of eachrail serves as a lateral support for the trolley which is provided witha roller pivoted about an upright axis. Thus lateral deflection of thetrolley causes one of its side rollers to engage the inside rail leg.allowing this trolley to roll along unimpeded.

According to yet another feature of the present invention the inner legsof the rails are formed at their lower edges with a bevel or chamfergiving the space between these rails a downwardly diverging crosssectional shape. These legs are thickened considerably at these bevelsand rest with their inside faces against the bracket.

In accordance with a further feature of this invention the vertical legof each rail is formed with a horizontal laterally-projecting flangewhich is adapted to engage in a similarly shaped slot of a connectingelement adapted to fit snugly within the rail. This element is fittedinto the ends of two rails to be joined. and screws threaded intransverse holes in the element are tightened to exert force against therails and prevent slippage of the rails relative to the element and.therefore. to each other. There are no exposed surfaces. except thoseofthe rail itself on which dust or dirt can collect.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING The above and other objects. features.and advantages ofthe invention will become more readily apparent fromthe following description. reference to the accompanying drawing inwhich:

FIG. 1 is an end view of a rail according to the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a vertical section through an assembly using the rail of FIG.1;

FIG. 3 is a view similar to FIG. 2 showing another configurationaccording to this invention;

FIG. 4 is a cross section through a holding element or connecting pieceusable with the rails of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a cross section through the element of FIG. 4 mounted on oneof the rails of FIG. 3; and

FIG. 6 is a side view of an assembly as shown in FIG. 3.

SPECIFIC DESCRIPTION As shown in FIGS. land 2 a pair of rails I havingthe general shape of a downwardly open channel having a pair of parallellegs 2 and 3, the former being shorter than the other and being formedon its outside face with a longitudinally extending groove 25 and thelatter being longer and being formed on the lower end of its inner facewith a longitudinally extending ledge 10. A web 30 joins these legs 2and 3.

The hanger 4 comprises a generally U-shaped steel yoke having transversereinforcing flanges 6 and a mounting flange 5 adapted to be bolted tothe ceiling shown at 26. The hanger 4 is formed with a pair of inwardlydirected support blocks 7 each formed with a respective longitudinallyextending slot 8 and with adjacent its lower edge a ledge 27. Each rail1 is supported at each hanger 4 on one of its blocks 7 with the web 30lying on the horizontal upper surface of this block 7, the lower edge ofthe leg 3 standing on the ledge 27, and the leg 2 received in the slot8. The hanger 4 is formed with a threaded hole 28 extending between itsoutside and the slot 8 so that an Allcn screw 9 can be screwed into thishole to bear on the leg 2 at the groove 25 and thereby tightly securethe rail 1 in place.

A trolley 29 has an upright support l5 from which a load L is hang andwhich carries at its upper end a transverse horizontal shaft 14 on whichtwo rollers 12 are mounted via roller berings 13. Each of the tworollers l2, only one of which is shown. rides on a respective rail 1 onthe horizontal upper face of its bight or web 30. In addition theupright support arm 15 is provided on each side with a cylindricalroller 16 which rides against the leg 3 of the respective rail I.

The rails l are joined together longitudinally by means of short bars 11of rectangular cross section which are welded to the insides of thesebars between the ridges l0 and the web 30. having a thickness equal tothe height of the ledge 10 so as to he receivable within the bracket 4if it happens to fall at that location.

The arrangement of FIGS. 3-6 is similar to that of FIGS. 1 and 2 withlike reference numerals being used for functionally similar structure.in this arrangement each leg 3' is chamfered at 18 on its outer face onits lower edge and is correspondingly thickened at l) on its inner face.The block 7 is formed with a flat face 31 having no ledge 27 and eachleg 3 is formed on its in side face above the thickening I) with ahorizontal in \vardly directed short flange 20. These rails l are secared to the holder 4 with screws 9 as in FIGS. 1 and 2.

The rails l are joined longitudinally by connecting pieces or bars 22comprising short prefilcd steel bars formed with a cross-sectional shapeconforming closely to the inside shape of the bars 1'. and having agroove 23 adapted to receive the flange 2". In this manner one suchelement 22 can be inserted half way in the ends of two rails l to bejoined longitudinally. Each element 22 is formed with two longitudinallyspaced transverse threaded bores 230 each opening perpendicular to thesurface 32 left exposed at one end and at the other end at the groove 23and at the face 33 turned against the inside face of the leg 3' abovethe thickening l). The face 33 is cylindrically curved or shaped as aplane warped around an upright axis. as is the side of the groove 8opposite the screw 9 so that a slight misalignment of the hangar yokeand the rail is possible. as is use of a curved rail.

The trolley 29' is provided with a single barrel roller 16' which ridesagainst the one or the other rail 1'. FIG. 3 shows how when the trolley29 is tipped radially this roller 16' remains in contact with one of therails l and the stem 15 is allowed to deviate considerably from avertical position by the chamfers 18.

I claim:

I. An overhead track assembly comprising:

at least one elongated rail having an upper horizontal support surfaceand at least one projecting flange extending longitudinally the fulllength of said rail; at least one hanger having a recess receiving saidflange, and

means for clamping said flange in said recess. said recess being anupwardly open groove and said hanger being formed with a threaded holeopening into said groove. said means including a screw threaded in saidhole and having an end engageable with said flange. said rail being achannel having a first leg constituting said flange. a second legparallel thereto, and a web interconnecting said legs and having anouter face constituting said support sur face.

2. The assembly defined in claim 1, further comprising another such railparallel to the first-mentioned rail and having its second leg turnedtoward and defining a space with said second leg ofsaid first rail, saidhanger having another such recess and hole receiving the flange of saidother rail.

3. The assembly defined in claim 2 wherein said rails having confrontingparallel flat faces on said second legs. each of said second legs beingformed parallel to said web on the side turned away from the othersecond leg with a projecting ridge. said assembly further comprising astrip secured to each ofsaid rails between said ridge and said web andto another longitudinally abut ing inlinc rail.

4. The assembly defined in claim 2 wherein each of said rails ischamfered away from the other rail at the lower edge of its second leg.whereby said space extends longitudinally and widens downwardly.

S. The assembly defined in claim 4 wherein each of said rails is formedat the side of its second leg turned away from the second leg of theother rail with a thickening in the region of the chanifer.

6. The assembly defined in claim 2, further comprising a trolley havinga pair of rollers each riding on a re spective one of said supportsurfaces. a support arm extending from said rollers down between saidrails in said space, and at least one roll rotatable on said support armabout an upright axis and engageable with at least one of said secondlegs.

7. The assembly defined in claim 6 wherein said roll in generallybarrel-shaped and is tapered toward its ends.

8. The assembly defined in claim 1 wherein said second leg is formedwith a ridge extending longitudinally of said rail and projectingtransversely of said first leg. said assembly further comprising aconnecting piece shaped to fit between said legs and formed with agroove receiving said ridge and a throughgoing threaded hole. and atleast one screw received in said hole in said connecting piece andengageable with said rail to secure said connecting piece thereto,whereby said connecting piece joins the longitudinal ends of a pair ofinline rails.

1. An overhead track assembly comprising: at least one elongated railhaving an upper horizontal support surface and at least one projectingflange extending longitudinally the full length of said rail; at leastone hanger having a recess receiving said flange; and means for clampingsaid flange in said recess, said recess being an upwardly open grooveand said hanger being formed with a threaded hole opening into saidgroove, said means including a screw threaded in said hole and having anend engageable with said flange, said rail being a channel having afirst leg constituting said flange, a second leg parallel thereto, and aweb interconnecting said legs and having an outer face constituting saidsupport surface.
 2. The assembly defined in claim 1, further comprisinganother such rail parallel to the first-mentioned rail and having itssecond leg turned toward and defining a space with said second leg ofsaid first rail, said hanger having another such recess and holereceiving the flange of said other rail.
 3. The assembly defined inclaim 2 wherein said rails having confronting parallel flat faces onsaid second legs, each of said second legs being formed parallel to saidweb on the side turned away from the other second leg with a projectingridge, said assembly further comprising a strip secured to each of saidrails between said ridge and said web and to another longitudinallyabuting in-line rail.
 4. The assembly defined in claim 2 wherein each ofsaid rails is chamfered away from the other rail at the lower edge ofits second leg, whereby said space extends longitudinally and widensdownwardly.
 5. The assembly defined in claim 4 wherein each of saidrails is formed at the side of its second leg turned away from thesecond leg of the other rail with a thickening in the region of thechamfer.
 6. The assembly defined in claim 2, further comprising atrolley having a pair of rollers each riding on a respective one of saidsupport surfaces, a support arm extending from said rollers down betweensaid rails in said space, and at least one roll rotatable on saidsupport arm about an upright axis and engageable with at least one ofsaid second legs.
 7. The assembly defined in claim 6 wherein said rollin generally barrel-shaped and is tapered toward its ends.
 8. Theassembly defined in claim 1 wherein said second leg is formed with aridge extending longitudinally of said rail and projecting transverselyof said first leg, said assembly further comprising a connecting pieceshaped to fit between said legs and formed with a groove receiving saidridge and a throughgoing threaded hole, and at least one screw receivedin said hole in said connecting piece and engageable with said rail tosecure said connecting piece thereto, whereby said connecting piecejoins the longitudinal ends of a pair of in-line rails.